Many of us will have experienced that bloated feeling when we have eaten too much. So much so that our bellies have felt like they would burst! Most of this time this feeling can be felt at Christmas or Thanksgiving. Deep down we are content at having feasted so well, uncomfortable as it may be. Other occasions, such as Easter or Halloween, warrant a sickly feeling when too much chocolate or sweets are consumed. However, give it a few hours and a full recovery will have been made to the extent that we’ll be able to head back to that fridge for a “light snack” or even seconds for those of us who are more gluttonous. But, ever considered those foods that can literally threaten your llife? No? Well you should because they can prove to be fatal! Read on to find out how to avoid an unfortunate and unexpected accident, which could potentially save your life!
1. Tuna
Tuna Steak. Image source - Wikipedia
Eating tuna, whether it be of the steak variety as pictured or canned, should not worry you. That’s the good news. However, the mercury that the fish sucks up off the ocean floor could pose a threat. Once inside you mercury can travel in two directions: to your kidneys where it will be processed normally and allow you to carry on your daily routine, or to your brain where it will slowly send you insane and eventually kill you. Eeek! This is a very slow process though and could probably be treated, but it’s probably best to cut down on the tuna in your diet if you are eating it on a near daily basis!
2. Fruit
Yes that’s right – fruit. That of which is supposed to make up your 5-a-day can harm you in other ways. Take apples for example; taking a bite out of an apple may keep the dentist away but it may not keep a vomiting fit at bay if you eat too many. Apples contain cyanide, too much of which can kill you. Unripe peaches can kill you as well, such as they did to King John in 1216. He ate far too many unripe peaches and passed away from dysentery. Cherries are another potentially deadly fruit. If the seed inside a cherry is damaged in any way, even if you were to bite into it, releases prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide), which can result in death.
3. Mushrooms
The “Death Cap” mushroom looks very similar to the perfectly edible straw mushroom, which doesn’t help. However, if consumed, the consumer will begin to suffer from almost immediate kidney and liver damage and will face impending death – hence the name of this cheeky little mushroom. This mushroom has been the cause of many deaths around the world and in history, including Roman Emperor Claudius and Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.
4. Potatoes
Potato. Image source - Wikipedia
Be wary of potatoes that have gone green, very wary. Not only are their leaves and stems deadly, but once a potato goes green it’s full of glycoalkaloid poison. Boiling them in a high enough temperature should kill of all the poison but to play it safe, it’s probably best to avoid them full stop.
5. Unpasteurised Organic Honey
Unpasteurised Organic Honey
When commercial honey is processed, all the harmful toxins are killed off leaving it safe to eat and completely risk free. However, unpasteurised organic honey often contains Grayanotoxin. This toxin can lead to bouts of dizziness, weakness, excessive sweating, nausea and vomiting, and lasts for 24 hours. If you eat enough of the honey though then it lead to a more fatal outcome.
6. Tomatoes
Tomatoes. Image source - Wikipedia
Have you ever been for a meal in a restaurant and the tomatoes have been brought to you with the stems and leaves still attached? Yes! Well try not to eat them in future because they can cause stomach agitation. Again, it would take vast quantities to kill you but the threat is still there. Also, for the same reason of not wanting an agitated tummy, do not eat green tomatoes either.
7. Almonds
Almonds. Image source - Wikipedia
Did you know the danger of almonds is so serious that they have been banned in New Zealand? Each bitter almond contains 4-9 mg of hydrogen cyanide. If not heated properly in cooking then the danger still looms. The severity of their risk is enough for the USA to limit the sale of their raw variety.
8. Rhubarb
Rhubarb. Image source - Wikipedia
Those green leaves you see in the picture are poisonous and must not be eaten. That’s straight forward enough. Rhubarb has a somewhat bitter taste and is not to everyone’s liking, but those leaves have an even more bitter taste and eating 11lbs of the stuff can kill you. They contain oxalic acid, the stuff that creates kidney stones. Not nice!
9. Nutmeg
Nutmeg. Image source - Wikipedia
Did you know nutmeg is a hallucinogenic drug? Eating just 0.2 ounces of it can leave you convulsing and eating 0.3 ounces will lead to hallucinations. Feeling brave? Or maybe you have a death wish? Eating a whole one will leave you in a state of “nutmeg psychosis” and with the sense of an impeding doom. That doesn’t sound like fun anymore. There have been two recorded deaths by nutmeg in history: the first was in 1908 and the second was as recently as 2001. Trippy yet deadly.
10. Blowfish (Fugu)
Fugu. Image source - Wikipedia
Fugu is lethal – FACT. Its liver, muscles, ovaries and skin is full of a poison called tetrodotoxin. This toxin is 1,200 times more poisonous than cyanide. Fugu is also a delicacy in Japan. The fact that it is so deadly has meant only a specially three-year trained chef can cook it because if not prepared properly it will kill in four to six hours of consumption. Fugu has become one of the most celebrated dishes in Japanese cuisine, probably for the fact that if the person has lived to tell the tale it is something worthy enough of boasting on your CV!
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